Protecting gardens and crops from insects using the ‘smell of fear’

For home gardeners and farmers, herbivorous insects present a major threat. The predator insects that feed on these bugs emit odors that pests can sense, which changes the pests’ behavior and physiology to avoid being eaten. With bugs becoming more resistant to traditional pesticides, researchers now report they have bottled the ‘smell of fear’ produced by predators to repel and disrupt insects naturally.